Summertime in North Burnaby and East Vancouver

The tight-knight community feel is a major reason people look to buy East Vancouver and North Burnaby real estate. One of the big factors behind the “neighbourhoody” feel of these areas is their numerous long-running community events.

Here are just a few of my favourite annual spring and summertime community events in North Burnaby and East Van.

If you own a piece of Commercial Drive or Burnaby Heights real estate, you know both these communities have a strong Italian heritage. You and your family can help celebrate this local culture in all its facets at this annual community event, where food, dance, and music transform Vancouver’s Little Italy into one big street party for an entire day.

Learn more about the vendors and acts on the Italian Day website at italianday.ca.

One of the best things about owning a North Burnaby home is your proximity to “Burnaby’s Biggest Festival,” which has also been voted Burnaby’s best festival for a decade straight.

Stroll along Hastings Street from Boundary Road to Gamma Avenue and take in the sights, sounds, and tastes of Hats Off Day. It all starts with the Family Fun Dash and a big parade, followed by a street festival with live music, street entertainers, and food vendors.

For details on how to enter the Family Fun Dash and other events and contests, visit the official Hats Off Day website at hatsoffday.com.

For a few days each year, some of Vancouver’s busiest and most popular streets shut down to car traffic and open up to pedestrians. The Car Free Festivals on Main Street, in June, and Commercial Drive, in July, see the streets lined with local vendors, stages for musical acts, stations where you can partake in family-friendly activities, and lots and lots of delicious food stalls.

Car Free Day allows you to take full advantage of the sunny months and really get to know your ‘hood from a unique perspective.

For more information, see the Car Free Vancouver website at www.carfreevancouver.org.

Watch as international cyclists zoom through the Burnaby Heights neighbourhood for the Giro di Burnaby, the largest professional cycling series in North America, which has been running for a decade and counting. The grand prize is $15,000 to the winner. If you’re not quite up for competing yourself despite the prize money, then get in on the action by cheering from the sidelines.

If you’ve got an active teen in your family, they can enter the Boffo Breve for youth aged 12 to 16, which takes place on the same 1 km track as the professional race.

For more information, visit the Giro di Burnaby website at www.girodiburnaby.com.

Situated right where East Vancouver and North Burnaby meet, the Pacific National Exhibition—better known as the PNE—has made for fun-filled local summer nights since 1910. While the PNE’s amusement park, Playland, is open year-round, the Fair at the PNE runs for a few weeks in late summer, from mid-August. In addition to amusement rides and carnival games, the Fair at the PNE hosts numerous exhibitors, a kids’ discovery farm, beer gardens for the adults, and big-name musical acts each night.

To find out what this year has up its sleeve, check out the PNE website at www.pne.ca.

As an East Vancouver and North Burnaby realtor, Pauline knows how to sell your home and neighbourhood. Call or email Pauline today to set up an appointment.